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#4519583 - 05/05/20 04:46 AM $400 Build Assistance  
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,353
HitchHikingFlatlander Offline
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HitchHikingFlatlander  Offline
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,353
California
I'm in the process of building a budget gaming rig for my daughter and wanted to see if anyone could help me out with build advice. We're trying to keep the cost down to $400 including Win 10. To ease some of the costs I have an old case, DVD drive (if we end up installing one) and a 500GB SSD to help keep costs down. I still need to find the following:

MOBO
Processor
Ram
GFX (Maybe APU would prefer dedicated GFX card though)
PSU
WIN 10

I've received great advice from members here in the past and appreciate and suggestions!


I've got a bad feeling about this.....
Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4519595 - 05/05/20 09:46 AM Re: $400 Build Assistance [Re: HitchHikingFlatlander]  
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 8,839
Allen Offline
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Allen  Offline
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Ohio USA
The cheapest that will play games would be an AMD APU based system. The APUs will get a significant update this Fall.

If going discrete GPU. Here are ideas.

CPU: Articles are recommending the 7nm 4core/8thread Ryzen 3 3100 or 3300X for a good budget gaming system (attachment). $99 or $120. Will include needed cooler, I think. Not on market yet -- expected in May.

Motherboard: Shop sales for B450 motherboard. Try to get Gigabyte or Asus. Today, GIGABYTE B450M DS3H at Newegg for $77 delivered.
Gigabyte MB

Memory: 8GB minimum (16GB is the norm these days). AMD CPUs respond to faster memory. Get 2666MHz (or faster). Approximately $40 to $44 for 8GB.

GPU: The hard part. Shop sales for older models. Radeon RX570s were $120 today at Newegg.

PSU: With above parts a 500W supply will work okay. Shop the sales. Today $50.

W10: You can buy a legitimate "key" to W10 for under $15.

Adding mentally: Comes to around $400 to $430 so far (depending on items selected). Need a case for around $20. Need a drive for the OS -- no time this morning to look.

Shopping sales over a period of a month can get the price down.

Not as thorough as I'd like but, a quick look at things -- as I have to "move on" this morning. Hope it helps some.

Attached Files Ryzen-3-3000-Series.png

Sapphire Pulse RX7900XTX, 3 monitors = 23P (1080p) + SAMSUNG 32" Odyssey Neo G7 1000R curve (4K/2160p) + 23P (1080p), AMD R9-7950X (ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 420), 64GB RAM@6.0GHz, Gigabyte X670E AORUS MASTER MB, (4x M.2 SSD + 2xSSD + 2xHD) = ~52TB storage, EVGA 1600W PSU, Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower, ASUS RT-AX89X 6000Mbps WiFi router, VKB Gladiator WW2 Stick, Pedals, G.Skill RGB KB, AORUS Thunder M7 Mouse, W11 Pro
#4520113 - 05/08/20 09:23 AM Re: $400 Build Assistance [Re: HitchHikingFlatlander]  
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Posts: 8,839
Allen Offline
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Allen  Offline
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Ohio USA
Quote
AMD Ryzen 3 3300X and 3100 Review: Low-End Gaming Gets a High-End Boost

$120 scores a potent chip


Our Verdict

The Ryzen 3 3300X and 3100 bring a new class of gaming performance to the low end, serving up enough performance for high-end gaming while leaving room in the budget for a better GPU.

you get hyper-threading on both chips .., a bundled Wraith Stealth cooler .., and unlocked multipliers that enable overclocking on almost all AM4 chipsets

Article


Sapphire Pulse RX7900XTX, 3 monitors = 23P (1080p) + SAMSUNG 32" Odyssey Neo G7 1000R curve (4K/2160p) + 23P (1080p), AMD R9-7950X (ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 420), 64GB RAM@6.0GHz, Gigabyte X670E AORUS MASTER MB, (4x M.2 SSD + 2xSSD + 2xHD) = ~52TB storage, EVGA 1600W PSU, Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower, ASUS RT-AX89X 6000Mbps WiFi router, VKB Gladiator WW2 Stick, Pedals, G.Skill RGB KB, AORUS Thunder M7 Mouse, W11 Pro
#4520232 - 05/09/20 09:08 AM Re: $400 Build Assistance [Re: HitchHikingFlatlander]  
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Allen Offline
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Allen  Offline
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Ohio USA
From a long article comparing all GPUs.

Quote
AMD vs Nvidia: Who Makes the Best GPUs?

RX 570 4GB is still the cheapest 'decent' graphics card, with prices starting at $120. It's a bit faster than a GTX 1650 in most games


Sapphire Pulse RX7900XTX, 3 monitors = 23P (1080p) + SAMSUNG 32" Odyssey Neo G7 1000R curve (4K/2160p) + 23P (1080p), AMD R9-7950X (ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 420), 64GB RAM@6.0GHz, Gigabyte X670E AORUS MASTER MB, (4x M.2 SSD + 2xSSD + 2xHD) = ~52TB storage, EVGA 1600W PSU, Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower, ASUS RT-AX89X 6000Mbps WiFi router, VKB Gladiator WW2 Stick, Pedals, G.Skill RGB KB, AORUS Thunder M7 Mouse, W11 Pro
#4532978 - 08/08/20 01:07 AM Re: $400 Build Assistance [Re: HitchHikingFlatlander]  
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,353
HitchHikingFlatlander Offline
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HitchHikingFlatlander  Offline
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,353
California
Allen apologies for the delay in response (been working on the road a lot) but wanted to say thanks for the suggestions. I ended up going with most of the items you recommended. Made a few changes since it was her birthday a few weeks back we contributed for a few upgrades. Have it put together but still haven't installed the OS, again appreciate the advice.


I've got a bad feeling about this.....
#4533001 - 08/08/20 01:15 PM Re: $400 Build Assistance [Re: HitchHikingFlatlander]  
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 8,839
Allen Offline
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Allen  Offline
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Joined: Oct 1999
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Ohio USA
Thanks for the update. Hopefully, she'll like the finished product.

If you can find time when its finished and she's enjoying it, please list the build items you finally went with. Just interested in how things turned out smile

P.S. By the way, if your build differs strongly from my suggestions in some ways, no problem. No wrong answers. I'm never offended if someone does things differently than I would.

Last edited by Allen; 08/13/20 12:37 PM. Reason: post script

Sapphire Pulse RX7900XTX, 3 monitors = 23P (1080p) + SAMSUNG 32" Odyssey Neo G7 1000R curve (4K/2160p) + 23P (1080p), AMD R9-7950X (ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 420), 64GB RAM@6.0GHz, Gigabyte X670E AORUS MASTER MB, (4x M.2 SSD + 2xSSD + 2xHD) = ~52TB storage, EVGA 1600W PSU, Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower, ASUS RT-AX89X 6000Mbps WiFi router, VKB Gladiator WW2 Stick, Pedals, G.Skill RGB KB, AORUS Thunder M7 Mouse, W11 Pro

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